KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With Thanksgiving falling so late in November, local businesses say the number of last-minute Christmas shoppers increased this year—and some are still coming.
Andrew Wright is one of them. He took last-minute shopping to another level this year by buying his parents' gifts the day after Christmas.
“I knew I had a few days to shop for my parents, who aren’t huge on gifts anyway,” Wright said.
Wright’s dad works for the Chiefs. Due to the Christmas Day game, they had to postpone their family celebrations.
Elizabeth Wasinger is in a similar situation. She will exchange gifts with her grandparents after Christmas—gifts that she’s yet to buy.
“We’re just going to get some stuff for my grandparents,” Wasinger said. “We're going over to see them this weekend, so we’ll pick up some things to wrap for them. We got some gift cards, but we need something they can actually open, you know, something physical.”
But Andrew and Elizabeth are not alone in their very last-minute shopping decisions, according to Kari Lindner, the general manager at Made in KC.
“It was a little slower, and then everybody realized, ‘Oh no, it's in a few days,’” Lindner said. “Losing a week definitely made everybody panic-shop the last few days.”
Another local store, Brookside Toy & Science, shared the same perception.
“We were most surprised by Christmas Eve. Usually, we get people coming in the first couple of hours, but then it really dies down to just a few people every so often. But this year, it was busy until the end,” said Evelyn Wouters, the store manager at Brookside Toy & Science.
The toy store is still wrapping gifts—and expects more customers to come in.
“The rest of this week will be busy with last-minute shoppers,” said Wouters.
Now, Made in KC is gearing up for the playoffs.
“We will not slow down,” Lindner said.
With visitors from out of town in Kansas City for the holidays and locals enjoying their recess, Made in KC also expects to see many more people walking in.
Just like the Hand family from Wichita, who came to spend a few days in Kansas City.
“We’re just out enjoying some post-holiday shopping,” said Joe Hand. “We’re looking for some good sales and local shopping.”
Brazilian visitor Graziella Mazzoni came from Florida to visit her sister in Kansas City.
“This is my first time here, and I love it. It’s beautiful,” said Mazzoni. While her family focused on not spending too much money during the holiday season, Mazzoni said the trip was worth it. “I found that people here are very polite compared to Florida.”
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